The Dark Knight's Dilemma
by MedicalAid
Summary: Batman's confronted by one of his most dangerous enemies. And he wants something from him. Something the Dark Knight can't give him. **Spoilers of "The Dark Knight Rises" Beware!**
1. It Begins

A\N~ Yeah, guys. I know it's terrible. xD But hey, I gotta shake the rust off somewhere. If you absolutely hate it, then how about leaving some constructive criticism, eh?

* * *

Bruce Wayne grimaced to himself, looking down at the unconscious bodies of three members of the newly formed "Ratz" gang. 'What a great time to come out of retirement,' he thought to himself sarcastically. Then again, if he didn't get control of this kind of thing, it could always blow completely out of proportion due to the lack of action on the Gotham City Police Department's side.

He glanced up at the moon, guaging its position in the velvet night sky. Almost time to head back home. To Selina. To the baby.

The baby. When Selina had come out of the bathroom, pregnancy test in hand, tears flowing freely from her eyes, Bruce knew it would be a hard decision to keep the baby or place it into foster care.

They had stayed up that night, laying in bed but unable to sleep. Finally, she posed the question,"What are we going to do, Bruce?"

He glanced at her. Eyes red-rimmed and fearful, hands clenching her stomach. He pulled her close to him, and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing softly.

"I don't know," he had said, caressing her hair softly,"I don't know."

With only two months before the due date, the decision had to be made. Put the child into foster care, and it would live without parents, much like himself. He despised this. On the other hand, if he fathered the child, it might not live at all. If word of his identity got out; if someone found him. He couldn't bare the thought.

The hero looked one last time at his surroundings, mind filled to the brim with possibilities for his unborn baby boy. He sighed deeply before preparing himself to leave the alley.

Bruce was about to ascend out of the makeshift battleground when he heard it. A lone step. Citizen? No, this step was aggressive. Gang member? No, too intentional for someone who was going to attack him. Maybe it's-

"Well, well, well...Look what we have here."

These words, spoken from behind the billionaire himself, sent chills down his spine. He didn't need to turn around to know whom they originated from. Bruce knew the voice all too well. Nevertheless, he hesitantly turned, facing the man who nearly drove him to the brink of insanity. The man who tested his willpower to abide by the very vows that shaped his lifestyle. The man who almost broke him.

When he saw the opposing man's face, his throat tightened, barely able to speak the next word.

"Joker."

Joker smiled, playfully throwing back his signature green hair.

"Happy to see me, I presume."

Bruce took a step toward the man, extending his arm and locking onto his throat like a vice.

"How did you get out?" he inquired hoarsely, slackening his grip on Joker's wind pipe just enough for him to emit a reply.

"Oh, Bats," he laughed, before coughing a little,"You really didn't think that with all the chaos that good Bane fellow caused. All the..." He stopped here to inhale deeply, eyes rolling back into his head with emulated ecstasy, before speaking out in a deadly, almost psychotic voice,"All the...destruction."

The Dark Knight thought back on the events a year prior. Bane. Miranda. The bomb. All the innocent people dead. The sacrifices made. The costs of it all.

Joker's thrashing brought him back to reality, and it was then he realized he had tightened his grip to the point that the villian's face had changed colours. He let go, and the man fell to his feet, gasping for air. After a few deep breaths, he laughed. That haunting, madenning laugh.

"A little tense, are we?" He laughed out, standing and rubbing his throat gingerly.

Without thinking, the Bat threw a full-force punch; it connected with Joker's face, sending him stumbling backwards into a trashcan on the side of the alley.

Bruce, quick to respond, pursued him. He lifted him off the ground by his collar.

Joker laughed. Again. Bruce couldn't stand that laugh. He slammed him into the wall to his right.

"What have you got planned?" he almost yelled. The Joker looked at him innocently, head tilted to one side. He licked his lips.

"Me?" he replied gently, touching his chest with mock modesty,"Nothing! Honest!"

Gotham's hero was willing to extract the information in any way possible. He showed this by driving an armored knee into his adversary's torso. Joker coughed at him, before smiling.

"It seems someone's gone a little soft. And I must say, you look absolutely awful!"

Bruce was ready to put in another knee, but Joker's next words caught him. Stopped his blood cold.

"It couldn't be that baby boy of yours, could it?" He asked menacingly. He saw through the Bat's poker face. "Oh-ho! I'm not as dumb as you look, Bat."

He laughed at Bruce's bewildered expression.

'How could he have known? Selina hasn't been out of the house in weeks. Could he have-?'

Then it hit him. He landed a fist square on Joker's painted jaw before screaming,"What have you done with her?"

The man simply threw his head back and laughed. No, this couldn't happen again. Another punch. Laughter. Another, and another. No response. He wasn't getting anywhere with this.

"Hey Bats, how's about you an' me make a deal?"

This caught Bruce's attention. He hesitated, staring intently at the man who he thought would be locked away forever.

"What kind of deal?"

Joker spit a tooth out of his scarred mouth,"If you would let me down, I'd be more than obliged to let you in on it, old pal."

Batman's patience was wearing thin, but he did as asked, slowly stepping back and letting go of the nightmare-come-true. He watched as Joker smoothed out his ratty purple suit.

"Now then," he said with a smile,"down to business."

There was a silence, in which he pulled another tooth from his gums, tossing it casually on the ground.

"Alright," he laughs,"You want your little girlfriend back, yes? Yes. Of course you do. You're really a good guy, Bat. Full of honesty and heroism." Mockery and sarcasm. It stung.

Joker glances at a watch on his wrist, probably stolen,"Ooh! Look at the time. I'd better get this show on the road. Okay, so here it is, old buddy old pal. You want your woman back, and I want something she has."

Bruce looks at him with pure loathing;

"I want something of hers, yes. But not something she soley owns, no, no. Something both of you own. Something both of you care about, even though you try to mask it with frail attempts of busying yourself with," he waved his hands at the still unconcious bodies of the gang,"whatever you call this."

Bruce's eyes went wide as it sunk in.

"That's right, kiddo."

The hero stared at him in dismay.

"I want the kid."


	2. Just a Sick Joke

{ Okay, so this one's a little shorter. I apologize. But hey, new chapter! Yay! }

* * *

Bruce awoke in a cold sweat; that was the third time this week the Joker had returned to haunt his nightmares. He still could not shake the feeling of utter horror when he was roused from said nightmares.

He turned his head to look at Selina. She was laying on her right side, facing him. Just as gorgeous as the day he met her. His hand brushed a strand of hair from her face, then traveled down her arm to her smooth midsection.

No baby.

Bruce returned his head to the cool pillow underneath it and closed his eyes before realizing sleep was out of the question. Why did these kinds of dreams make themselves present in his subconscious? Was it paranoia? Or maybe some kind of indication of what would come next in the former billionaire's life?

Or was it the caped crusader himself? The savior of the city he cares so much about? Was Batman tired of living a civilian life?

His thoughts were interrupted by a stinging in his throat. It wasn't until know until he noticed his mouth was an arid wasteland.

Bruce raised himself silently out of bed, careful not to wake his sleeping beauty. As he padded through the residential home he had come to know and love, his footsteps were nearly inaudible. Sometimes, he wondered what it was like to be loud and clunky.

Reaching his destination, he opened the refrigerator door and pulled a bottle of water from underneath some other miscellaneous food items. He mentally noted the need for a bigger fridge, relieving the drought inside him with the cool liquid.

When his mouth was adequately saturated, he screwed the top back on the bottle, and tossed it back in the food junk yard.

Upon the door swinging closed, two arms slipped around his waist from behind, accompanied by a sultry voice he knew all too well.

"I think you're losing your touch, Bruce."

He smiled and placed his hands over hers. Leaving bed without waking her was damn near impossible. She rested her head on his back, sighing contently. After a few minutes of this, a softer, more caring voice filled the air.

"More nightmares?"

Bruce's lips took a downward curve as his mind returned to the alley. To Joker.

"No."

He didn't enjoy lying to her, but having her unnecessarily worry wasn't something he particularly liked. He should've known she would see through it.

"What was it?"

He closed his eyes,"Selina, I don't think-"

"Bruce, please. Don't hide this from me," she pleaded, cutting him off.

The former billionaire sighed, unable to get out of this one.

"You were pregnant."

After this, there was a long silence. Bruce figured she was contemplating whether or not this was good or bad.

"You're right, that is scary," she laughed,"What else?"

"They took you, and wanted the baby," he stated, not wanting to mention Joker's name in fear of jinxing himself,"And I was torn between giving it to them, or letting you both die by their hand."

Selina pulled him closer. He reassuringly clasped her hands in his own.

"That's...awful," she said hesitantly.

After a while, Bruce spoke again.

"You think we're ever gonna make it back to bed? This floor is cold."

She chuckled and let go, and they both made their way back into the bedroom. He laid down first, and she followed soon after, draping her arm over his chest.

Of course, he didn't tell her about Joker. Nor could he. Had she known that it was he who was interfering with Bruce's sleeping pattern, she would have not taken it as well. They both knew how dangerous he was. If it had indeed been a telling of future events, something would have to be done swiftly to prevent such a thing from happening. But it wasn't. There was no way out for him. Arkham hadn't even been hit by Bane's new society. Or had it? Then, it hit Bruce like a sack of dead kittens. He remembered.

"Selina?," he whispered, testing if she was awake.

"Hmm?"

Thank God she was.

"We need a new refrigerator."

* * *

{ No baby? Egasp! But that's what this story was all about, right? Guess again! Originally it was, but eh...Why not mix it up a little? }


	3. Return of a Hero

{ I'd like to thank drali11, lastrun11, Zeny, and Pen. Paper. Paradise (I can't put that name together for some reason...Wtf?) for reviewing this story. It really helps me get through the writing process knowing someone out there actually wants to read it. xD So yeah, thanks a ton for helping me out there. It means a lot. }

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Kade?"

These words echoed off the walls of the old Johnson warehouse. It hadn't been inhabited in years, and the wood was beginning to decay. The city tried to have the place bulldozed to the ground, but seeing as how it was an old landmark of some kind, the demand never went through. The whole thing was a death trap; no one would dream anyone would have the bravery to go through its large, wooden doors. Which made it a perfect spot for drug runners.

"Quit being such a wuss, Johnny, it was just a little creak," the man named Kade replied, shining a flashlight around the place,"All these old places creak when it's raining like this. Man, was it cold in here. The middle of January, and all they had were a couple of jackets. And was it too much to ask for a couple of lights?

After a few minutes of searching, the beam of light finally found its target. Two large blue barrels sat merely twenty feet away from them.

"About time," Kade stated,"I was starting to think we got played."

As the bulky man took his first step toward the barrels, the small light in his hand flickered.

"Didn't we just buy those batteries?" inquired Johnny, carefully examining his own pocket light, which had also flickered, but less severely.

"Yeah. They were expensive, too," Kade said gruffly," Government finds a way to cheat us every day, don't they?"

Amongst the steady pitter-patter of rain on the decrepit roof above their heads as they made their way to their objective, Johnny could've sworn he heard a much louder, distinct thud. Almost like...

"Kade, whatever happened to..._him_?"

"Who?" replied Kade, inspecting the barrels of contraband.

Johnny hesitated. He had heard from his brothers when he was just starting out in the family business to never speak the name. Just saying it could make him appear.

Regardless, he shakily replied,"The...The Bat."

This stopped Kade in his tracks. Did this kid not know how taboo it was to mention him?

"Look, kid. We don't talk about that," he said quietly, returning to his work.

Johnny began inspecting the other barrel, but it still weighed on his mind.

"He died when that bomb went off, right?"

Kade stood up and angrily strode over to his partner.

"Look. You wanna finish the job, or do you wanna sit here and talk about some retard who used to dress as a giant fucking _bat_ and beat up a couple of our pals?" He inquired, almost shouting.

He waved his hands at the drugs,"Because I'm pretty sure _this_ is more important!"

He turned around and continued the work they were sent to do.

"Go get the forklift, kid," he ordered, and Johnny quickly replied. He was mad enough already.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling something was out there. Whether it be a masked vigilante or just a street bum, he didn't like it.

Kade heard the door open and footsteps lead outside. What a stupid kid. You don't say things like that on a drug run. Not unless you _wanted_ him to bust you. His hand grasped another bag of cocaine. He brought it to his nose. Authentic, for sure.

He spoke aloud to himself,"The Bat died two years ago anyway. It's not like he's actually gonna show up."

From behind him came a voice. A voice so utterly terrifying, his eyes began watering on the spot; so sharp, it could put a diamond saw to shame. A voice that only belonged to one man.

"That's where you're wrong, friend."

Before Kade could make a move, his entire world went black.

* * *

"As we all know, the infamous drug running gang, 'The Trojans' was eliminated by the Gotham City Police Department in the spring of 2009, almost two years ago," reported the female radio broadcaster,"Well, two men believed to be survivors of the homicidal contraband smugglers were found brutally murdered outside the old Johnson place. Now, when police found the bodies, they were actually strung up by their ankles from a nearby light pole. Who could've done this, you may ask. The police are investigating this very question as we speak, and we should have a response in the next few hours. But many of Gotham's residents already have an idea of who he may be. Several people said the murderer of these people in fact be..."

There was a pause and rustling of papers as listeners around Gotham anxiously awaited the end of the sentence.

"Is this some kind of joke?" came a muffled voice. After a few more minutes, she finally came back onto the air.

"Hold on to your hats, folks, this one's big. Many residents believe that the Batman has once again returned to wreak havoc on Gotham City's underworld!."

* * *

{ Could it be? Has Batman returned to his old crime fighting ways? Or was it just some punch drunk MMA fighter out for a beer? You'll find out next time! ...Or will you? }


End file.
